Method and composition for protecting plants against stress and/or for increasing their yield

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for protecting plants against stress or for increasing their yield, in which the plant is treated in its intense development stage or directly after flowering or before, during or maximum 5 days after the occurrence of stress with 0.001-10 kg/hectare of a compound of Formula (I), ##STR1## wherein X - is an agriculturally acceptable inorganic or organic anion. The invention also relates to a composition for protecting plants against stress or for increasing their yield, which comprises as active ingredient 0.001-95% by weight of a compound of formula (I).

What we claim is: 
     
       1. A method of increasing plant yield, which comprises the step of applying to the plant during a stage of intense development, or directly after flowering, 0.001 to 10 kg/ha of a salt of the Formula (I) ##STR3## wherein X -  is an agriculturally acceptable inorganic or organic ion. 
     
     
       2. The method of increasing plant yield defined in claim 1 wherein the agriculturally acceptable inorganic anion in the salt of the Formula (I) is derived from a mineral acid. 
     
     
       3. The method of increasing plant yield defined in claim 1 wherein the agriculturally acceptable organic anion in the salt of the Formula (I) is derived from a lower carboxylic acid, a long chained fatty acid, or a sulfonic acid. 
     
     
       4. The method of increasing plant yield defined in claim 1 wherein the salt of the Formula (I) is S-methyl-methionine sulphonium chloride.